Former Army Ranger fights Hurricane Harvey, cancer
Meloni was in
Knowing that Hurricane Harvey was on its way, Meloni bought plenty of food and iodine.
"You don't need to stock up on gallons of water when you have iodine and know how to use it," he said.
He had a stomach ache when he went to bed, but he blamed it on a heavy meal. By morning, however, he was in severe pain and felt confused, a common sign of poison from a burst appendix in the bloodstream.
While Meloni claims some confusion, he still was thinking clearly enough to remember his Ranger training and do what needed to be done.
"I went to the hotel lobby and said I needed medical transportation to the hospital," Meloni said. "They said, 'Have you seen outside? It's pouring down sheets of rain. The streets are flooded. An ambulance can't make it here.'"
"My choices were to sit here and wait to die or Ranger up and take care of it," he said.
He arrived at the
Meloni downplayed the heroism of his feat.
"If you told this story to your average Airborne Ranger or Seal or Green Beret, they'd say an Airborne Ranger got wet. Who cares?" he said.
Meloni credited his Ranger training for the skills and determination to complete the waterlogged hike.
"The way they make us is not with hugs and cupcakes," he said.
While Meloni was recovering in
"When I heard what he had done, I was relieved he had made it,"
Unconventional path
The Melonis are used to following an unconventional path.
Army recruiters urged him to use his legal experience to join the
"A normal wife would say this is crazy," he said. "She thought she was getting one life. She thought she married a lawyer and would have money. Instead, I told her I wanted to go where I could get killed and we'd get much less money. Any crazy thing I've ever said, she's supported me through it."
"I was really proud of him for wanting to take that step and for being willing to serve," she said. "I knew he had really noble motives, and I knew he would be a great asset to the Army. It was a big change, but I was always proud of him for choosing that."
After four years of service, Meloni considered extending his contract with the Army, but he said he was feeling slower and more tired. At the time, he attributed the decline to age and began looking for other options.
That led him to
Hans and Melonis met when they both were students at
Even though he had no previous oil law experience, Meloni applied for a position at the firm.
"I don't know that I've heard a story or known somebody with his determination, refusing to be denied, refusing to quit," Hans said. "It's not a risk at all. It would be a missed opportunity if we didn't give a guy like that a chance."
Delays and complications
Meloni was expected to have started at the
Formerly a practicing attorney in
His father died the day he started studying for the bar, and he soon was diagnosed with prostate cancer. A military screening identified the cancer during the transition period after Meloni had announced his plans to leave service but before officially being honorably discharged.
Enos and Hans promised to hold his job and encouraged him to wait until spring to take the bar.
"He said he wasn't willing to do that," Hans said. "He said he'd pretend he didn't have cancer for the next three weeks and sit for the bar exam."
Meloni received notification last week that he passed the exam.
He is back in
Meloni is scheduled to start his new job later this month or in early October.
"We have supreme confidence that he's going to beat this, with all the other stuff he's faced," Hans said. "It's incredible what he's been through. If I wasn't witness to the whole thing, I wouldn't believe it. You wouldn't think it's true.
"He's an inspiring guy. We're looking forward to having him here."
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